Retreat Reports: Other Retreats
Not all of our retreats have been Chan retreats. John Crook was also authorised to teach Tibetan Mahamudra, and from time we have hosted outside teachers from other traditions. This page features reports from such retreats.
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Retreat Report – Silent Illumination July 2022
Anonymous |Read more of: Retreat Report – Silent Illumination July 2022heatwave
only the butterflies
still busyI am a chatterer, verbalising everything in my head all the time, keeping a running commentary going and explaining events to some imaginary listener. It took me a while to realise on retreat that the ‘Silent’ in ‘Silent Illumination’ was not the silence of nature but had to be the silence of me.
I was strict with myself and cut down the flow of the wordy…
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Retreat Report, Koan Retreat September 2022, a poem
Anonymous |Read more of: Retreat Report, Koan Retreat September 2022, a poemPlanting a great oak at Shawbottom
and returning each year to say, “I did that”,
that would be something.
The sapling trees were ready in pots,
the spade resting against the shed.I could only claim a short-lived success
weeding between the paving slabs.
About his many enlightenment experiences
Sawaki Roshi once said,
“they didn’t amount to a whole hill of beans”.In my secret koan, ‘Tokusan’s Bowls’,
eg…
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